News you need to know

From the upgrade/downgrade report (Mon Dec 17): Hill wasn't a big factor in fantasy lineups in Week 15, but he had an easy long score bounce off of his helmet and still got open deep against the Chargers. He remains a must play against the Seahawks.

Recent Stats and Projections

Weekly Performance vs WR 1, WR 12, WR 24, WR 36

Percentile ranks

Tyreek Hill's percentile rank in each category, among WR with more than 50 fantasy points.

Recent Game Summaries

2018 Week 14 vs BAL (14 / 8 / 139 / 0 rec, 1 / 6 / 0 rush)

Tyreek Hill caught eight passes for 139 yards on 14 targets, and rushed one time for six yards. This was a rough game for Hill, as he injured his wrist in the first quarter and came out of the game, and then came back only to injure his ankle in the second quarter, which forced him to the locker room early. It looked as though he was going to forced out because he was seen limping badly on the sidelines, yet he managed to somehow come back in the game. Hill made the play of the game on the aforementioned fourth and nine, and then caught three passes for 40 yards in overtime. Hill also hurt his foot on the play of the game, and it looks as though that is going to be the issue for him this week. Prior to the fourth and nine play, Hill had only four catches for 52 yards and it looked like another off day for Hill. He gutted through the pain though and turned in a great day for fantasy managers in the playoffs. The Chiefs play on Thursday night, and it looks like it's going to be hard for Hill to be ready to go for that game.

2018 Week 13 vs OAK (6 / 1 / 13 / 0 rec, 2 / 37 / 0 rush)

Tyreek Hill caught one pass for 13 yards on six targets, while also rushing two times for 37 yards. Hill had his worst game of the season, failing to reach 50 yards for the first time all year. It was a frustrating game for Hill, as the plays were there for him to have a big day. He dropped a long touchdown pass from Mahomes that should have been an easy 50+ yard score, and then with Hill behind the Oakland secondary again, Mahomes underthrew him and Hill was unable to adjust to the ball and come down with the touchdown. Those two plays alone would have put Hill over 100+ yards with two touchdowns, and those are the type of plays Hill has made all season long. The Chiefs have a tough matchup against the Ravens this week, but Hill remains a #1 receiver, especially with Kansas City having to rely on the passing game more.

2018 Week 11 vs LAR (14 / 10 / 215 / 2 rec)

Tyreek Hill caught 10 for 215 yards and two touchdowns on 14 targets in the Chiefs loss to the Rams on Monday night. The Chiefs are loaded on offense, but it was Hill who kept them in this wild shootout, and it will be Hill who decides how far they go in the playoffs. As good as Mahomes has been, without Hill's game breaking speed and ability to score long touchdowns, the Chiefs offense would be a much more on dimensional west-coast offense, and that goes for when he is running routes, taking handoffs in the backfield, or being used as a decoy, as he was on two other scoring plays that he did not participate in. Hill's first touchdown came with Mahomes in shotgun at the Rams 30 yard line. Hill was lined up in the right slot and ran a sort of looping post route that calls for him to know the exact correct depth to curl his route to the left side of the field. If Hill commits too quickly, the play probably does not go for a touchdown, but he managed to loop at the exact right time, which gave Mahomes enough air to throw the ball under Hill's speed for a 30 yard touchdown. Hill's second touchdown came with Mahomes operating under center at his own 27 yard line. Mahomes took the snap and play-action faked to Hunt, while his offensive line gave him time in the pocket. Coming off the line of scrimmage, Hill was able to shake his defender and get him off balance and then finished off the job by dropping the cornerback to the ground as he accelerated down the field on a straight go-route. Mahomes threw the ball deep and by the time Hill caught it, there was not a Rams defender within 15 yards of him, which led to the easiest 73 yard touchdown pass and catch that you will ever see.

2018 Week 10 vs ARI (10 / 7 / 117 / 2 rec, 1 / 20 / 0 rush)

Tyreek Hill caught seven passes for 113 yards and two touchdown on 10 target against the Cardinals. Hunt also rushed one time for 20 yards. Simply put, the Cardinals had no answer for Hill's speed, as he beat them time and time again down the field. On the Chiefs first play of the game, Hill was able to beat his man down the field for a 38 yard gain, which set up his first touchdown of the day, a 37 yard pass from Mahomes. On that play, Mahomes was lined up in the shotgun and took the snap and received a clean pocket from his offensive line. Hill was lined up in the inside right slot position and ran a shallow post-route down the middle of the field. Hill showcased his speed and just ran right by every defender and Mahomes hit him deep down the field for the easy 37 yard touchdown. On Hill's second touchdown catch of the game, he showed off why many--including myself--have given him credit for being a much improved route-runner who understands the nuances of getting open. On this play the Chiefs were facing a second and goal from the Cardinals 14 yard line. Hill once again lined up in the inside right slot position, and instead of running a post or crossing route, Hill turned his hips ever so slightly as a fake to the inside. His defender bit and Hill completely turned him around, which allowed Hill to gain inside position and create a window for Mahomes to throw to. Mahomes saw the opening and threw a bullet between three defenders to Hill, who by this time was sitting down just inside the end zone. The pass got to Hill, and Hill made a nice catch as the ball was thrown very low to him. The catch was Hill's ninth touchdown catch of the season and his 10th total touchdown, putting him on pace to blow through his previous high of 11 total touchdowns in his rookie season.

2018 Week 9 vs CLE (5 / 4 / 69 / 0 rec, 2 / 16 / 0 rush)

Tyreek Hill caught four passes for 69 yards, while also rushing two times for 18 yards. Hill has cooled off considerably since his three touchdown game against the Patriots, but the timing has also coincided with Hunt's hot streak. With the Chiefs scoring five offensive touchdowns, it was disappointing that Hill amassed less than 70 yards with no touchdowns, but he also came into this game nursing a groin injury for much of the week. Most of Hill's yardage came on a 40 yard catch late in the second quarter. With the Chiefs on their own 44 yard line, Mahomes took the snap out of shotgun with Hill lined up out wide to his right. Hill ran a straight go-route and completely dusted his defender coming off the line of scrimmage. Hill had a good five yards on his defender by the time Mahomes pass got into his hands, but a Cleveland safety was able to cut him off before he take it the rest of the way for a touchdown.

2018 Week 8 vs DEN (4 / 3 / 70 / 0 rec)

Tyreek Hill caught three passes for 70 yards on four targets in the Chiefs win over the Broncos on Sunday. On a day when Mahomes threw 34 passes, it was interesting that Hill was only the recipient of four targets, but of that had to do with the fact that the tweaked his groin early in the game, and had to come in and out of the line up several times before finally being taken out of the game completely in the second half. Much of Hill's production on the day came on a 40 yard post pattern where Mahomes hit Hill right at the crest of his route which allowed Hill to gradually angle his downfield shoulder toward the endzone and gain yards after the catch. The most impressive part was that his Broncos defender nearly took off his helmet in the process of making a horse collar tackle from the stride, and the torque of the tackle was so pronounced that it actually stopped Hill dead in his tracks, which he used to his advantage to reverse field and pick up another 15+ yards on his way to a 40 yard gain.

2018 Week 7 vs CIN (10 / 7 / 68 / 1 rec, 2 / 8 / 0 rush)

Tyreek Hill caught seven passes for 68 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets, while also rushing twice for eight yards. Hill had solid production with seven catches and a touchdown, however, he was on the verge of having a monster day but dropped a wide open 35 yard touchdown in the back of the endzone. Hill got his day started on the first play of the night for the Chiefs, with the offense backed up to their own four yard line. Hill ran a shallow slant and initially bobbled the catch, but was able to secure it and stop on a dime as he was doing so. He then reversed field and took off to the left side of the field, but then stuck his foot in ground after two strides and cut back to the center of the field. He stumbled a bit as it seemed like even his own legs could not keep up with his speed, before being tackled for a 27 yard gain. Hill's touchdown catch came after Mahomes bobbled a snap at the Bengals three yard line. Mahomes was able to pump-fake and then roll out to his left, before finding Hill standing just inside the left pylon for the touchdown. Hill's only blunder on the night came after he completely dusted his defender on a deep post-route to the left side of the endzone. Mahomes put the pass on the money, but Hill simply took his eyes off the ball and dropped an easy touchdown.

2018 Week 6 vs NE (12 / 7 / 142 / 3 rec, 1 / 0 / 0 rush)

Tyreek Hill caught seven passes for 142 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing once for no gain. On Sunday Night Football, Hill brought his A-game and nearly brought the Chiefs back against a Patriots team that was scoring at will. Hill's play alone was worth the price of admission, scoring on plays of one yard, 75 yards and 14 yards. Hill's 75 yard catch with three minutes left to tie the game for the Chiefs, was the highlight of the night though. Hill was lined up on the left side of the formation and ran a deep crossing route. Mahomes found him 40 yards down the field and Hill made a jumping catch coming across the field. After securing the catch, Hill squared up his body and ran immediately to the left sideline. Watching Hill go from zero to top speed in four strides is difficult to describe, other than saying he outran four Patriots defenders and it was not even a close call. Hill also made a nice sliding touchdown catch where he broke off his route from the back of the end zone and Mahomes lobbed a pass to the left pylon and Hill came screeching across the end zone to make the catch. Hill's 14 yard touchdown catch came with him lined up in left slot. He ran a sort of intermediate post-route where he outran his defender to the left side of the endzone and the Patriots had a blown coverage with no defenders on the backside. Without Hill, the Chiefs probably don't come back to tie the game deep in the fourth quarter as his explosiveness and uncanny ability to make big plays was the difference for the Chiefs offense.

2018 Week 5 vs JAX (7 / 4 / 61 / 0 rec, 2 / 26 / 0 rush)

Tyreek Hill caught four passes for 61 yards, while also rushing twice for 26 yards against the Jaguars on Sunday. Hill started the game on the right foot, taking a handoff in the backfield for a 40 yard gain on the Chiefs first play, although a holding penalty on Watkins reduced the gain to a modest 21 yards. Hill saw Jalen Ramsey for a better part of the day, which explains why his reception total and targets were down from his average, but that coverage also allowed Watkins and Kelce to total 178 receiving yards on 11 catches. Hill's day could have been much bigger though, as he had at least two steps on two different Jaguars defenders on a deep ball where Mahomes underthrew him. That throw came from the Chiefs own 29 yard line and Hill made a play on the ball at the Jaguars 15 yard line. Given how open Hill was, that play could have easily been a 71 yard touchdown and given Hill five catches for 132 yards and a touchdown. This is important to note because a player's true value often doesn't show up in the box score, and even going against an All-Pro cornerback like Ramsey, Hill was able to get wide open deep down the field. Mahomes won't often underthrow a deep ball like that, so there are certainly quite a few big games in Hill's future this season.

2018 Week 4 vs DEN (13 / 9 / 54 / 0 rec, 1 / 2 / 0 rush)

Tyreek Hill caught nine passes for 54 yards on 13 targets against the Broncos on Monday night, while also rushing one time for two yards. You have to give credit to the Broncos secondary for keeping Hill contained, a job that is much easier said than done. Containing Hill comes at a price though, and that price was letting Hunt run wild, while also having no answer for Kelce in the middle of the field. The Chiefs pull at your defensive seams and force you to either spread out and try to contain their speed on the outside, or compact your safeties and linebackers and take the chance that Hill and Watkins don't kill you on the outside, which has yet to be really done this year by an opposing defense. Hill did manage to catch nine passes so it was not a complete bust from a PPR perspective, but it seemed like every time he caught the ball, there were two or three Broncos defenders around him ready to push him out of bounds or make a tackle. Hill's longest gain of the day came on a 37 yard punt return where he nearly broke down the Broncos coverage, but was finally brought down at the Denver 41 yard line. Unfortunately, this return did not lead to a score by the Chiefs, so Hill's contributions in this game were much less than we will see moving forward. Despite his rather quiet game, Hill was on the receiving end of perhaps the most ridiculous play of the game, and one that went a long way in helping the Chiefs win this game. With the Chiefs facing third and five from their own 45 yard line, Mahomes took the snap out of shotgun and was quickly forced out of the pocket. While running to his left, Mahomes saw Hill streaking across the field to the nearest sideline, and inexplicably, Mahomes delivered a LEFTY pass to Hill for the first down.

2018 Week 3 vs SF (5 / 2 / 51 / 0 rec, 2 / 5 / 0 rush)

Tyreek Hill caught two passes for 51 yards on seven targets in the Chiefs win over the 49ers on Sunday. Hill also ran the ball twice for five yards. Hill drew several pass interference penalties, including one deep down the field where he had his man beat, which had it been a clean play, could have pushed Hunt into the 110 yard with a touchdown range on the day. Despite catching only two passes, Hunt still managed to make perhaps the play of the day, although it is in hot competition with the Mahomes scramble, touchdown throw to Conley that I described above. Hill has not received the credit he deserves for becoming a complete wide receiver over the past three years. He is thought of as a speedster, but the truth is he is as good as or better than 95% of the receivers in the league in terms of setting up his routes. On this play, Hill lined up on the left side of the formation, alone, but set up in the slot. Coming off the line, Hill uses his quickness to throw an in-out fake to get to the inside position of the field. At the stem of his route, he sets up his double move by running two fast steps to the outside of the field before sprinting back to the middle of the field to run a deep post. Mahomes makes a nice throw that is a 40 yard frozen rope. There are three defenders within ten yards of Hill, but none are closer than three yards to him. Mahomes puts the ball in a great place where no defenders can make a play on it, but it also shows a tremendous trust in Hill, because the throw is high and he needs to go up and make a play on the ball. Which is exactly what happens, as Hill jumps up and catches the ball at the very top of his jump, a pretty incredible feat of timing considering he was running a double move, deep post to the center of the field and made the play at top speed. Even when he catches only two passes in a game, he forces you to look at both receptions and see why he has turned himself into one of the best receivers in the game today.

2018 Week 2 vs PIT (6 / 5 / 90 / 1 rec)

Tyreek Hill caught five passes for 90 yards and a touchdown on seven targets in the Chiefs win over the Steelers on Sunday. Mahomes spread the ball around more this game, but even though he threw five touchdowns to other players, Hill still finished with 20+ points in PPR formats. The Steelers did not leave their cornerbacks in one on one man coverage with no safety help many times on Hill, yet it seemed like every time they did, Hill was roasting his defenders for big gains. Hill's first catch didn't come until the first play of the second half, but it went for 36 yards. With Burns covering him, Hill abused him with a quick out-in-out fake to the left sideline and gained separation quickly. The Steelers blitzed from the right side which forced Mahomes to fade back before throwing over the top to Hill, which was so far ahead of his defender that the pass actually went over the top and then behind Hill before Burns could recover. Had the Steelers not blitzed and Mahomes got off a normal throw, this would have went for a 75 yard touchdown. Hill adjusted to the pass and then gained another 15 yards after the catch. Hill's touchdown catch, which was Mahomes sixth, was a 29 yard play that showed off his burgeoning route-running skills. The call was a fly-route up the left side of the field, but as Hill gained separation he curled his route to the inside of the field which allowed him to make the catch without having to battle his defender along the goal line. The play was simply too easy for the Chiefs receiver, as his defender had no way of recovering before Hill could score the deciding touchdown.

2018 Week 1 vs LAC (8 / 7 / 169 / 2 rec, 2 / 4 / 0 rush)

Tyreek Hill led the Chiefs in receptions, yards, touchdowns and targets against the Chargers, catching seven passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Hill also returned a punt 91 yards for a touchdown and rushed twice for 4 yards. Hill was the difference in this game, as the Chargers had no answer for his speed and Mahomes ability to find him whenever he was open. Hill's first touchdown came on a slant route where Mahomes did a great job of not letting pressure impact his pass. Mahomes hit Hill in stride in the middle of the field and Hill was able to get to the outside so quickly that the Chargers safety only managed to get a hand on his leg as Hill flew by him for a 58 yard touchdown. Hill's next touchdown catch came on a shovel pass from the 1 yard line. Hill came across the formation and took the pass easily for a touchdown without being touched by a Chargers defender. Hill's punt return touchdown was a thing of beauty, and came before Kansas City was even able to run an offensive play. The punt was a good one and Hill was able to run back so that when he caught the punt, he was moving away from the Chargers punt coverage. That allowed him to get to the left sideline where he simply outran the Chargers, and scored a 90 yard touchdown without being touched.

Our View: Hill had a touchdown bounce off of his helmet or it would have been a much better night. If his teams make it through the semis despite his poor game, they'll start him against the Seahawks in Week 16.link to story

Our View: Hill had his foot injury taped up on Sunday and played with the injury. He should do the same thing on Thursday night against the Chargers. We're starting him at his usual WR1 in Week 15. link to story

Our View: A good sign for Hill's availability in Week 15 here. Hill was taped up on Sunday and continued to play with this foot injury. That should be the plan this week on Thursday night against the Chargers. Even though Hill is not 100 percent, we're starting him as per usual unless he suffers a setback. link to story